Ryan Hollins has played for six teams in his eight NBA seasons for two primary reasons.

Players who are seven feet tall and have any sort of ability will continue to get chances at the professional level, because as the saying goes, you can’t teach size. But once teams have had Hollins in house to see up close what he has to offer, he doesn’t tend to last very long, which has led to his bouncing around the league.

The Miami Heat, still desperate for some backup big man help, have become the latest team to give Hollins a serious look.

Still in search of veteran depth at center, the Heat on Friday summoned 7-0 center Ryan Hollins to Miami to meet with Erik Spoelstra and his staff, according to a person briefed by the team. No offer was made Friday or Saturday but Hollins remains under consideration. …

The Heat auditioned veteran center Nazr Mohammed a week ago and also has inquired about free agent center Andray Blatche. The Heat is very intrigued by free agent center Emeka Okafor, but ESPN has reported he might not play until midseason because of a bulging disc in his neck.

Okafor is the best of the bunch when healthy, but it’s unclear when he’ll be available. Blatche would be a fine addition too, despite the knucklehead factor, but it would be tough to see him signing up for a minimum deal with Miami given his skill set.

Hollins played for the Clippers the last two seasons, and averaged just 7.9 minutes per contest in 61 regular season appearances most recently. He’ll be most remembered in Los Angeles, however, for unfortunate playslike these.

I’m likewise told that Okafor is unlikely to sign anywhere until midseason as he continues to recover from his herniated disk.

But it’s not all bad news for Okafor, who was traded by the Wizards to the Suns before his lost last season began. Stein:

Roughly half of the league, I’m told, has registered interest this summer in Okafor

The list of pursuers for the defensive-minded center, according to NBA front office sources, includes LeBron James’ Cleveland Cavaliers as well as LeBron’s old friends in Miami.

Said one source: “He’ll be in high demand when he’s back.”

That sounds a lot like agent-drive spin, but it’s also believable. Okafor is big and respected in the locker room, two traits that push players toward long careers.

The Cavaliers and Heat, both focused on short-term goals, could use a player like Okafor. He’s likely to draw only minimum-salary offers, so they won’t get outbid. And as frontcourt depth, he provides a low-risk, medium-reward option.

The Heat is serious about adding another shooting guard and a big man if it can find two good ones willing to take the veteran’s minimum. After recently working out Jordan Hamilton (who signed with Toronto) and Chris Douglas-Roberts, the Heat also has inquired about Leandro Barbosa and Jordan Crawford, who both hold appeal to Miami.

Among power rotation players, the Heat has shown interest in Emeka Okafor and has considered Ekpe Udoh. Preliminary inquiries were made on Andray Blatche and Jason Maxiell. Agent David Falk said he talked to the Heat about Elton Brand but that Brand is unlikely to end up here.

When you pick up a veteran minimum player at this point in the summer, you mostly get what you are paying for. Teams try to find a guy who maybe is poised for a bit of a bounce-back year and roll the dice, but the bottom line is most of the quality guys are off the board. And to add to the fun, most of the veterans still on the board are convinced they are worth more than the minimum they are being offered.

The Heat have a rotation that should solidly land them in the playoffs in the East — with Wade, Bosh and the addition of Luol Deng they can keep playing the small ball, space-and-pace system they have the last few years. It’s not going to be the same, but it can win games because they still have some talent. Don’t see them lasting long in the postseason, but they should comfortably make it.

Here is our regular look around the NBA — links to stories worth reading and notes to check out (stuff that did not get its own post here at PBT) — done in bullet point form. Because bloggers love bullet points more than Chicagoans love their pizza (which is better than New York pizza, for the record)….

• After he played well for them at Summer League in Orlando, the 76ers are expected to sign forward Ronald Roberts Jr., although how much of that deal is guaranteed remains to be seen.

• The Bucks are offering a ticket plan on selected seats next season where if you buy the 2014-15 season, you get the 2015-16 season at at discount based on how many games you attend — show up to enough and you get next season free. That is a heck of a deal, but after last season the Bucks need to do something to drum up sales.